Adaptor for polishing pad



Oct. 9, 1962 R. R. CLARKE ADAPTOR FOR PoLIsHING PAD Filed April 4, 1961 INVENTOR. ROLLIN f2 CLARKE BY M MZ 3,056,988 ADAPTOR FOR POLISHING PAD Rollin R. Clarke, Waterbury, Conn., assigner to The Patent Button Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Apr. 4, 1961, Ser. No. 100,709 Claims. (Cl. 15-230) This invention relates to adaptors having particular utility for securing an accessory pad to a polishing head of the type conventionally used in a household iioor polisher.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improved accessory pad adaptor that may be repeatedly used to secure a number of different accessory pads to a polishing head or brush so that the accessory pads may be of simple economical construction without special attaching devices secured thereto.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved accessory pad adaptor that may be quickly fastened to a polishing head or the like and which resiliently connects the accessory pad to the polishing head to allow relative adjusting movement therebetween.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an adaptor of the type described that can be used in conjunction with either the male stud portion or the female socket portion of a conventional snap fastener. As both types of fastener portions are conventionally installed by manufacturers on the polishing head for securing or retaining an accessory pad having the appropriate mating fastener portion Xed thereto, the adaptor of this invention precludes the necessity of having a special adaptor for each type of polishing head fastener, and, therefore, reduces the number of accessory parts.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in pant pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will `be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is a cross sectional elevation view of a polishing head, a portion of the polishing head drive shaft, and an accessory pad attached thereto `by the adaptor of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevation View partly -broken away and partly in cross section of the adaptor of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation view partly broken away and partly in cross section of an adaptor assembly comprising a female or socket portion of a conventional snap fastener and'the adaptor of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation cross sectional view of an adaptor assembly comprising a male or stud portion of a conventional snap fastener and the adaptor of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. l there is `shown a conventional polishing head that is adapted to be rotatably driven by means of a shaft 12 operably connected to a motor, not shown. The polishing head 10 is of a conventional type and comprises a substantially annular base 14 made of Wood or other suitable material, which is Xed to the shaft 12 as by screws 16, and a plurality of brush elements 18 extending from the ba-se 1d.

In order to increase the usefulness of the polishing machine on which the polishing heads are mounted, an accessory pad 20 is positioned adjacent the lower ends of the brush elements 18 to provide a different cleaning or buifmg surface 21. The accessory pad is usually circular and is of a material such as felt, steel Wool, etc., selected according to the particular use desired. The

adaptor of this invention is provided to retain the accessory pad 20 on the polishing head 10, and includes a Sheet metal head or cap 24 and a coil spring shank 26. The adaptor is easily assembled with the accessory pad on the polishing head by inserting the adaptor shank 26 through a central opening 28 in the accessory pad 20 and retaining the adaptor by a snap fastener portion 30 secured to the end of the operating shaft 12. To allow for locating the head 24 above the surface 21, the accessory pad 20 is either formed with a central offset portion 23 or such offset is obtained in the assembly by the resilience of the accessory pad 20. An advantage of thi-s adaptor installation is in the provision of connecting means between the polishing head and the accessory pad which reduces the magnitude of a central offset,

and where a preformed offset is not provided, practically eliminates the tendency of the accessory pad to fold around the adaptor.

As seen in FIG. 2, the head or cap 24 of the adaptor 22 comprises a fiat central portion 31 that is made free of sharp corners to prevent scratching the surface upon which the accessory pad is operated, and an annular portion 32 having an inwardly turned edge that surrounds an enlarged end coil 33 on the coil spring 26 to retain the end of the spring Within the head 24. Preferably, the coils of the spring 26 are in contiguous relationship, but a space between the coils can be provided if greater resiliency or freedom of motion were desired. In either case, the spring 26 can be provided with transverse as well as axial resiliency to give the accessory pad 20 a small degree of freedom relative to the polishing head 10 and thereby allow the accessory pad to adjust to the contour of the brush elements 18 or other engaging surface.

In order to reduce the number and types of adaptors which may be required, the adaptor 22 of this invention is usable with either a female or socket portion o-f a standard snap fastener, as shown in FIG. 3, or with a male or stud portion of a standard snap fastener, as shown in FIG. 4. The male or female snap fastener portions are shown secured to the polishing head shaft 12 yby a vscrew 52, and the diameter of the coil shank and the thickness of the coiled wire are made so that the end coil 54 of the coil spring 26 can be resiliently retained by either the male or female portion of standard size snap fasteners. Where the female or socket snap fastener portion 40' is used, the end coil 54 is retained within the socket by means of the split ring 42 that resiliently engages the slot or opening between the exterior surfaces of end coil S4 and its adjacent coil, and where a male or stud snapy fastener portion 50 is used, the interior surface of the end coil 54 resiliently engages an annular reduced portion 56 on the stud 50.

It can be seen, therefore, that the adaptor of this nvention is usable with both the male and female portions of the stand-ard snap fasteners conventionally used by manufacturers on the polishing head for attaching an accessory pad thereto. As the adaptor of this invention can be easily inserted within and removed from the accessory pad, it is not discarded when discarding the accessory pad and can be repeatedly used to reduce the cost and simplify the association of the accessory pad and the polishing head. Additionally, the coiled wire or coil spring-like construction of the body of the adaptor perf mits economical construction of the adaptor as well as simplification of the attaching technique.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modiiications and adaptations of the structure above described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A polishing head and accessory pad assembly comprising, a polishing head having on one face thereof a plurality of lbrushes extending therefrom and a centrally located fastener fixed thereto for attaching the accessory pad assembly to the polishing head, a substantially at accessory pad in overlying engagement with the polishing head brushes and h-aving a central opening in alignment with said fastener, a coil spring shank having a first end coil resiliently engaging the said fastener for removably retaining the adaptor thereon and a second end coil on the opposite end thereof, said coil spring shank being received within the accessory pad opening, and a metal cap having :a peripheral inturned edge surrounding at least a portion of the second end coil for retaining the cap thereon, said cap being larger than the accessory pad opening and engaging and freely supporting the pad in spaced relationship to the polishing head.

2. An adaptor for removably securing an accessory pad to Va polishing machine or the like having a polishing head with brushes extending from one side thereof and an adaptor fastener centrally located thereon for attaching the adaptor to the polishing head, and wherein the accessory pad is placed in overlying engagement with the polishing head brushes and has an opening aligned with the adaptor fastener comprising a coil spring shank adapted for being received within the accessory pad opening and having a rst end coil dimensioned to resiliently engage the adaptor fastener and a second enlarged end coil on the opposite end thereof, and a cap dimensioned to engage the accessory pad adjacent the opening therelthrough, said cap being coextensive with said second end coil and having a peripheral inturned edge surrounding a substantial portion of the periphery of said second end coil for retaining the cap upon the enlarged end coil.

3. For use with a polishing head of the type having a plurality of brushes extending from one face thereof and a centrally located fastener fixed thereto for attaching an adaptor to the polishing head, and an accessory pad adapted to overlie the brushes and having a central opening therethrough in alignment with the polishing head fastener, an adaptor for securing the pad to the polishing head comprising :a coil spring shank dimensioned to be received within the accessory pad opening and having a lirst end coil dimensioned to resiliently engage the fastener and a second enlarged end coil on the opposite end thereof, and a circular cap dimensioned to engage the accessory .pad adjacent the opening therethrough, said cap being coexltensive with the second end coil and having a rounded peripheral inturned edge surrounding a substantial portion of the periphery of said second end coil for retaining the cap upon the enlarged end coil.

4. An adaptor for removably securing an accessory pad to a polishing machine or the like having a polishing head with brushes extending from one side thereof and an adaptor fas-tener centrally located thereon for attaching the adaptor to the polishing head, and wherein the accessory pad is pl-aced in overlying engagement with the polishing head brushes and has an opening aligned with the adaptor fastener comprising a coil spring shank dimensioned to be received within lthe accessory pad opening and having a first end coil resiliently engageable with the adaptor fastener and a second enlarged end coil on the opposite end thereof, and a circular cap dimensioned to engage the accessory pad adjacent the opening therethrough and having a substantially flat central portion, said cap -being coextensive with said second end coil and having a peripheral inturned edge surrounding a substantial portion of the periphery of said second end coil including the extremity thereof for retaining the cap upon the enlarged end coil.

5. An adaptor for use with a polishing machine and the like having a polishing head with brushes extending from one 4side thereof and an adaptor fastener centrally located thereon to secure a centrally apertured polishing pad in overlying engagement With the polishing head brushes comprising a coil spring shank inser-table through the pad aperture and having a first end coil resiliently engageable with the adaptor fastener for removably retaining the adaptor thereon, a cap having a peripheral inturned edge enclosing the outer periphery of the other end coil of the coil spring shank including the extremity thereof for retaining the cap thereon, said cap being larger than the polishing pad aperture to engage and freely support the pad in spaced relation to said first end coil.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,377,537 Wimmer May l0, 1921 1,988,193 Edstrom Jan. 15, 1935 2,024,805 Place Dec. 17, 1935 2,254,566 Cornell Sept. 2, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 401,226 Great Britain Nov. 9, 1933 

